Tech Entrepreneur Chan Pushes Again to Buy BlackBerry

Aug 14, 2013 7:55 pm ET

By Evelyn M. Rusli and Will Connors

Technology entrepreneur and investor Robin Chan said he isn’t giving up on BlackBerry yet.

Chan says he and a buyout group sought to buy the company about a year ago but couldn’t muster enough funds and found resistance from the board. Now Chan says he’s at it again and has reached out to members of BlackBerry’s board.

Whether or not any discussions will lead to a credible offer is unclear. Chan doesn’t have commitments yet for the several billion dollars it would take to buy BlackBerry.

“We are in dialogue,” he told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. “I’ve been cautious, because I think it would require a drastic DNA change.”

A BlackBerry spokesman said, “We don’t comment on the proceedings of the board.”